My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

“I can’t believe that you’re actually comparing yourself to J. Edgar Hoover, Nikki.” “Why not?” “History has shown us that J. Edgar Hoover was a pretty mean, petty and despicable person.” “Yeah, but we both liked to wear dresses.”

I’m what they call a ‘jailbird dater.’… There’s something wild and daring and kinkily crazy about it— it just gives me a thrill I could never get out of dating normal men on the outside of prison walls. Is it dangerous? No, it’s probably the safest dating you can do. I mean they’re in prison. They’re under control twenty-four-seven. So don’t you see? Meeting up with a prison inmate like that is not as dangerous as picking up some strange guy in a singles bar or on Tinder or any other dating spot or app.

My Review:

I gained several new brain wrinkles perusing this tale, but one such wrinkle concerning what happens on the dark web was rather chilling and had the little pea in my brain shuddering. I already know too many things I don’t want to know.

The premise was original, and the plot was well-contrived and unpredictable with active story threads that went in all directions yet managed to converge back in a cohesive manner. The majority of the characters were realistically flawed and most were deeply damaged yet still functional. Many were also unlikable yet they still held my attention and provoked my curiosity.

I’m in for the ride to read the rest of the series.

Murder in Moscow
Fiona Figg Mystery #8
by Kelly Oliver

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

She flashed her broken smile again… She smelled like stale onions and weasel.

Even after I’d scrubbed with the perfumed soap, I still smelled the lingering scent of fear.

I looked like a prudish spinster destined to spend the rest of her life reading about romance instead of actually experiencing it.

When she spoke, she sounded like a honeybee buzzing, soft and melodious.

I thought of one of my grandmother’s sayings: Old enough to know better and young enough not to care. I was neither.

My Review:

This installment of the popular series gave me new respect for the clever Kitty Lane, she is quite resourceful as well as agile. The engaging storylines were active, lushly detailed, unpredictable, and populated with a wide assortment of complex characters and occasional lashings of humorous observations. Ms. Oliver’s devious scheming is far too smart for me. The little pea in my brain was unable to put the various clues together to arrive at any semblance of the end result.

Her Feud
(The Drew Family # 7)
by  Emma Tallon  

Family is everything to Lily Drew and she’s always battled to keep hers together. But following the death of her only daughter, Ruby, and after losing her son, Connor, to a rival firm, Lily feels like everything she’s fought so hard to protect is about to fall apart: and when a turf war between two rival gangs starts on the Drew’s doorstep, Lily must pick a side…

The right choice could take the firm to a whole new level and bring her beloved son back into the fold. But get it wrong and her empire could come crashing down, and all of their lives could be in danger.

When Lily makes a bold decision and goes up against the most powerful firm in the city, she puts all of her men on the case. But the job goes wrong, and when one of London’s most dangerous crime bosses comes after the family, hellbent on revenge, Lily’s heart pounds. Did she just put everyone she loves in danger? And when the bitter feud ends, what will be left of the Drews?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Of the three brothers, Sean had always been the quietest, using his words sparingly, as if each one cost him something.

He mashed his lips together as the idea settled like a bruise on his heart.

Truths ain’t something to apologise for. Not in a world full of liars.

Billie’s lonely heart finally felt as though it had found a home here, in this family. And after all these years of wondering why she was so unlovable, and trying to ignore the hollow void where family was supposed to be, that simple acceptance was the most beautiful feeling in the world.

My Review:

This was my first time reading the prolific Emma Tallon and I will confess, I flinched more than a few times. She has conjured a tense and cringe-worthy tale of the British underworld brimming with complicated storylines full of unpredictable twists, and a full roster of complex characters who weren’t immune to violence. I undoubtedly would have gotten more out of this installment had I read the previous books in the series and was familiar with their gritty histories, yet, flinching aside, I was able to keep up and remained enmeshed and curious as to how it would unravel.

Emma Tallon is a British author of gripping, gritty, organised crime thrillers. With a number of bestsellers published by Bookouture since early 2017, Emma continues to write full time and has many ideas in the pipeline for future novels.

Location is a big part of the adventure in Helen’s books and she enjoys setting stories in different cities and countries where she thinks her readers might like to escape to.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I thought I knew him so well, but so much of what he’d done this year bewildered me. Perhaps I shouldn’t be mourning my loss. Perhaps I should be celebrating a lucky escape.

This is my big dream but, right now, it feels more like a nightmare.

I was planning to do the classic stereotypical man thing of shopping on Christmas Eve and panic-buying rubbish gifts.

My Review:

Christmas, cats, frequent mentions of baked goods, and Jessica Redland’s writing, I knew I’d like this one since I’m a kitten rescuer myself. The characters were gentle people and their storylines focused on real-life issues and were chaste enough for my elderly mother’s book club and easy to follow, although ever so slowly paced. I found myself growing impatient with the repetition of her health concerns, although understandably, dealing with a chronic illness can be all-consuming. There were a few surprise turns, a slow-burn romance, and a bit of a mystery to solve before ending with a much anticipated and appreciated HEA.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Life was pretty good here at times. Times like this, when the air of opportunity and promise seemed so fresh and ripe, there for the taking. She loved the scent of delusion in the morning.

Her mother had less of a carbon footprint than the ants they got in the kitchen every summer. One ant, even.

His mum took a sip of her tea, sitting back amongst her plumped cushions. She looked as though she was drinking the blood of her fallen adversaries whilst sitting on a throne of crushed bones and skulls.

‘I’m sorry, dearest girlfriend, of course you are nothing but sweetness and light. I was the one in the wrong… And furthermore, I am declaring now that you will always be beautiful, and I will always be wrong.

My Review:

While entertaining and uniquely quirky, this tale wasn’t always an easy read, a few of the characters were prone to nasty tirades and were rather vile at times. I didn’t fully appreciate the main character of Summer until near the end of the book as she was prickly, had a short fuse and a sharp tongue, and wasn’t someone I would choose to share air with. Yet this crafty wordsmith still had me invested in the story and curious as to how it would unfold.

The police are coming, they’re going to arrest me.’ My blood runs cold at his words. My husband is accused of murder. He swears he is innocent – so why won’t he tell me where he really was that night?

I feel so lucky to have my handsome husband Mark and our blue-eyed little boy. Everyone says we’re the perfect family. I used to believe them.

But everything changes when Mark comes home from a work trip with dark circles under his eyes. That night I jumped at a hammering at the door. The police want to question him about the murder of a beautiful, blonde young woman. Mark swears he had nothing to do with it, that she was a colleague, nothing more.

Mark is a respected airline pilot, and a model husband and father. It seems impossible that he would be involved in something like this. But he won’t say a word about where he was. I believe he’s not a killer – but I know he’s hiding something. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Then my husband is attacked. I sit by his hospital bed praying for him to wake up, tears streaming down my face. The police say it’s an accident. But what if someone has done this to him?

I go rigid with fear when I see someone hidden in the garden, watching the house. Are they coming to hurt us too? I’ll do anything to protect my precious little boy – and I have to start by uncovering my husband’s lies…

An unbelievably tense and twisty psychological thriller that will leave you breathless for more! Perfect for fans of Kathryn Croft, T.M. Logan and Ruth Heald.

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

The only way to tell with certainty if someone was capable of murder is when they killed another human being.

My Review:

This was a slowly evolving tale with many red herrings that kept me spinning with theories. I conjured multiple suspicions and was only fractionally correct by the story’s conclusion. The writing and storylines were easy to follow and populated by unique and authentic characters with multiple quirks and foibles. And while they weren’t always likable, they remained compelling and held my interest.

About the Author

Liz Lawler grew up sharing pants, socks, and occasionally a toothbrush, sleeping four to a bed. Born in Chatham and partly raised in Dublin, she is one of fourteen children. She spent over twenty years as a nurse and has since fitted in working as a flight attendant, a general manager of a five-star hotel, and is now working with trains. She became an author in 2017 when her debut novel Don’t Wake Up was published by Twenty7.

https://twitter.com/authorlizlawler?lang=en

Sign up to be the first to hear about new releases from Liz Lawler here: https://www.bookouture.com/liz-lawler

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

I need a boatload of sugar in me before I pass out from infatuation.

They’re as loyal as a Labrador on steroids.

My Review:

This was a fun and engaging read that sparkled with witty banter as the characters seesawed at each other while they basically wanted the same things. I always enjoy Ms. Isley’s humorous yet insightful writing style, it is entertaining and perceptive yet relaxing and easy to follow.